Lord of Rot

But now, everyone believed the dead were rising outside, and even Leech himself was inclined to believe such things existed. So, he had no intention of forcing anyone out.

"I'll figure out the food situation," Leech said.

He prepared to write a letter to Longship Castle and ask Lady Jie Lin for some grain. Given the abundance of resources in Waterfall Land, supporting 3,000 people wouldn't be difficult.

Then he stressed, "But the food absolutely cannot be distributed for free!"

There was an old saying about how a small favor could earn gratitude, while continuous handouts would only breed resentment.

If Leech truly wanted to develop Iron Wall Castle, he had to establish the concept that one must work to eat. These people weren't refugees; they just wanted to hide behind the high city walls.

Lacy nodded in full agreement and said, "We can put them to work."

Porcupine Territory only had a population of a little over 2,000. Now, suddenly having to support 3,000 outsiders was a headache for Lacy too.

Lacy's suggestion aligned perfectly with Leech's own thoughts.

But work meant paying wages, and Leech didn't have much money on hand right now. It was even more impossible to distribute it to the common people.

Because the time it would take to pay the people of Iron Wall Castle and then wait for that money to slowly flow back to him would be enough to ruin him.

And help from Porcupine Territory was too far away to solve this immediate crisis.

'I have no intention of bleeding Porcupine Territory dry to supply Iron Wall Castle. If Iron Wall Castle fails to develop, I can just wash my hands of it. My initial goal was the oil anyway.'

'At least Porcupine Territory can still develop normally. It's my fallback plan.'

'Getting Porcupine Territory involved would undoubtedly slow down its development.'

"Putting them to work isn't the problem. There's plenty of suitable work for them within Iron Wall Castle. But we can't pay them with money, since we need that to buy grain from the outside..." Leech said thoughtfully. "Hmm, I have an idea. In this kind of closed environment, the residents of Iron Wall Castle might just accept this economic model."

Seeing Lacy's curious gaze, he didn't keep him in suspense.

"Ration tickets!" Leech said. "We'll create our own kind of voucher and pay the people of Iron Wall Castle with it. They can then use these ration tickets to buy food."

"My lord, will that really work?" Lacy asked, uncertain.

Jinri, Silver Moon, copper stars. Most people didn't know when the economic system based on these three types of coins became mainstream, but aside from a small amount of bartering, the entire Lu Leiyi Continent used a unified currency.

Kings came and went, but the most they ever did was change the design on the Jinri to their own house crest; they never dared to alter the basic style.

For Leech to just introduce a completely new currency... no one would possibly accept it.

"Under normal circumstances, you'd be right. No one would pay any mind to our new currency," Leech said. "But the situation now is that these people are unwilling to leave Iron Wall Castle. We haven't investigated what's happening, but we can't just watch them starve to death either. Do you think they have enough savings to buy food?"

Lacy shook his head.

'We can't let them eat for free, but we can't let them starve.'

'Our own money is needed for trade with the outside world. Without a currency to support it, all labor and transactions would grind to a halt. In that case, temporarily introducing a substitute currency for limited use might alleviate the current predicament.'

'The only question is whether the people of Iron Wall Castle will accept this economic system.'

"Tomorrow, find a skilled carpenter," Leech said. "Then go recruit a few people. I'll teach them how to make paper first."

The two then began to discuss the purchasing power of the ration tickets, the value of labor, the design of the tickets, anti-counterfeiting measures, and so on.

After a long discussion, Lacy finally turned and left.

"*Yawn*~"

Mentally exhausted, Leech let out a yawn.

"My lord," the young maid, Alice, said as she approached with a mug of beer, placing it gently on the table.

"Thank you."

She suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a scream.

"What is it?" Leech asked, looking up in confusion.

"N-no, it's n-nothing!" Alice stammered, shaking her head.

Leech followed her gaze to the corner of the room.

It was Corpse Ghost Aina, who had taken off her helmet.

"Do you know her?" Leech asked.

"No," Alice said, shaking her head. "But... she has black hair."

"What's wrong with black hair?" Leech found Alice's focus a bit strange.

But with Aina present, Alice seemed afraid to speak, worried she might be resented by the black-haired noblewoman.

"The King... the Black King said that a black-haired witch brought the disaster," Alice said in a low voice. "This disaster... it's because of the black-haired witch."

Leech asked, "And what happens to black-haired witches?"

"They're hanged," Alice said, terrified.

'I thought that in a world with Magic, people wouldn't be so... ignorant. Apparently, I was expecting too much.'

"Don't worry," Leech said. "In my territory, no innocent person will be hanged, whether they have black hair or red hair. Besides, this has nothing to do with any witch, and the disaster will be over soon. Alright, you should go get some rest."

"Yes, my lord." Alice nodded and scurried away with small steps.

Leech turned his head to glance at Aina. Sensing his gaze, she looked back at him.

Although Corpse Ghosts had minds of their own, they rarely bothered to think. Only when they reached the Extraordinary level and above, like the Water Nymph, did they become willing to ponder, yet they still had far fewer desires than an ordinary person.

'Maybe when I can finally create a legendary-tier Corpse Ghost, I'll get a being I can have a proper conversation with.'

'Right, I still need to prepare the preservative.'

When Leech finished his work, he had the two Corpse Ghosts soak in the preservative.

The bedroom had been tidied up. The cobwebs on the walls were cleared away, the furniture inside was wiped clean, and all the bedding had been replaced. There was even a goose-down quilt.

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